Many are the magnetic attractions of Beaulieu - the Abbey, the Palace House,
the gardens, the history of the Montagu family.

But for people whose minds rattle with nuts and bolts, and whose daily lives bear out William James's finding (on the universe) that "A smell of petroleum prevails throughout", Beaulieu in September becomes a place of pilgrimage for one reason.

Clogging the narrow roads of the New Forest, tens of thousands of enthusiasts converge on Beaulieu for the International Autojumble - the annual fiesta now into its fifth decade (making the Goodwood Festival - just 50 miles away - a mere beginner).

More than 35,000 people were expected to flood into the grounds that include the National Motor Museum to pore over the displays on more than 2,000 stands.

The Autojumble is part grand auction - with Bonhams staging a sale on Saturday of classic cars and automobilia, which this year will include a 1927 Bentley 3-Litre Red Label Short Chassis Tourer by Vanden Plas valued at £180,000-£220,000.

But the event is also part garage and car-boot sale - with the Trunk Traders event on Sunday offering a chance for private individuals to make some money out of the old tat that has been gathering dust for decades.

"If you are looking for something you particularly want or need in the motoring world there is a 99 per cent probability you will find it at Beaulieu," says Shaun Magee, who has been attending the show since it began in 1969.

Shaun, who is 72 and lives in Bishop's Waltham, never goes to the Autojumble with a shopping list but invariably comes away with something of delight. "You don't realise that you need something and have to have it until you see it there," he explains.

As a lifelong collector of old cars (he used to restore and sell Aston Martins), pedal cars and toys, he takes particular pleasure in the rarities that traders from France now bring to the Autojumble. "I am particularly attracted to the French wooden pedal cars of the pre-war era which sometimes turn up," he says.

He has run a stand at the Autojumble for many decades and this year will be selling a 1952 Watsonian Connaught child's car with a 148cc four-stroke engine. Only nine of these treasures were ever made so Shaun is expecting to sell his for around £2,000.

Less costly will be the antique, electrically powered children's ride-on toys (like those often seen outside supermarkets) that he will be taking to Beaulieu - including one from the mid-Sixties in the shape of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine, which he values at £100-£200.

Tony Gosnell's memories of the Autojumble also stretch back to 1969 when "it consisted of just 40 trestle tables in a small field". Though Tony and his wife went "just to see what it was like", they paid £15 for a child's penny-farthing made by Triang and have taken a stand every year since then.

Tony, 72, started collecting "period accessories, mascots, art work, trophies - anything decorative, anything that can be put on a wall" when he was at school. His trading at the Autojumble and other sales subsidised his career in the motor trade and helped to pay the school fees for two children.

Their most spectacular trading successes, he recalls, were to sell some Lalique mascots a few years ago for £8,000-£10,000. "It's nothing compared with what they fetch now," he says.

That's another attraction of the Beaulieu Autojumble - an unconsidered trifle snapped up there for next to nothing might turn into a treasure to covet.